Railway switch stand



W. M. GRAY RAILWAY SWITCH TAND July 14, 1931.

Filed July 12, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 9 A TTORNEY July 14, 1931. w. M. GRAY I 1,814,306

RAILWAY SWITCH STAND Filed J ly 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY July 14,.1931. w. M. GRAY v RAILWAY SWITCH STAND 3 Sfieets-Sheet 3 v Filed July 12; 1929 w mm w ..:..w... 3. km I I -0 n F 70 *m bl Q l I .3 .6 m\ 3 1 N nlll Q lll m M 2 Q. w 32 M Pw NVENTOR ATTO NE! Patented July 14, 1931 UNITED stares PATENT oFFicE IVALLACE M. GRAY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN VALVE AND METER COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO RAILWAY SWITGH STAND Application filed July 12, 1929. Serial so. 377,841.

My invention relates to improvementsin railway switch stands. One of its objects is to provide an improved switch stand which will indicate through theposition of the target to trainmen when the switch to which the switch stand is connected has been run through in a reverse direction by any of the rolling stock to thereby force the switch and injure or render inoperative the switch and switch stand. Another object is to provide a bendable connecting member interposed between the switch actuating lever and the switch actuating crank arm adapted to yield and bend when the switch is forced, allowing the switch to move a partial throw and permit the rolling stock to pass without being derailed and causing the target to move a partial throw to thereby indicate that the switch has been forced and the switch stand thereby rendered inoperative. Another object is to provide a switch stand having a bendable and replacable member located outside of the switch stand casing and where it is readily accessible to bequickly removed and replaced to restorethe switch stand to operative condition. Another object is to provide a replaceable member which is adapted to be provided inmultiple of substantially constant and uniform cross section; of uniform tensile strength and of known qualities, and therefore each member adapted to be relied upon to function in connection with the switch stand in a predetermined manner. Another object is to provide a bendable connecting member in connection with railway switch stands which is adapted to be conveniently applied and adapted to switch stands of usual'types of construction heretofore constructed and now extensively in use. My invention also comprises certain details of form and arrangement, and combination of components, all of which will be fully set forth in the description of the accompanying drawings, in which:

*ig. 1 is a plan view of a switch stand embodying my improvements in normal condition.

Fig. 2' is a perspective view of a replacable and bendable member in its original ornormal condition, detached.

1 Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the same bendable member after having been bent due to the switch having been forced. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the position of the parts of the switch stand after the switch has been forced.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on line 55 of Fig. 1. I

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the actuating lever, detached.

Fly). 7 is a plan of a switch and switch stand connected in normal position.

Fig. 8 is a detail similar to Fig. 1 of the switch actuating lever and a portion or" the switch stand, and illustratinga modification of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail taken on line 99 of 8.

i The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of my inventioinin Figs. 1 to 7 of h which 15 represents the base ofa switch stand casing; 16 represents the lid of the switch stand casing attached to the base 15- by means of bolts 17. The base 15 rests upon two railway ties 18 and 19, to which it is attached by railway spikes 20.

A vertical shaft 21 is journaled to the base 15 and to the lid 16 of the casing, and is pro vided with a crank arm below thebase 15, to which cranl: arm a switch actuating connecting rod 23 is pivotally connected by means of a pin or bolt 241. The vertical shaft 21 extends above the casing; lid 16 and is pro vided with a signal target the arms 25 and 26 of which are set at right angles to'each other and normally serve to indicate to the trainmen whether the switch is in its open or closed position, by the position and color of the At night signal lights are carried by the target shaft to indicate the position of the switch.

In the normal condition of the switch stand as shown in Fig. 1, one or other of the arms 25 or 26 is set at right angles to the line of vision of the trainmen, which line of vision is indicated by the arrows 27 and 28, and indicate to the approaching trainmen the position of the switch. They also in my improved switch indicate to the trainmen that the switch is in normal operative condition and has not been forced, or run through.

Within the chamber of the switch housing and rigidly attached to the vertical shaft 21 is a gear segment 30, which is in mesh with the teeth of a pinion 31 which is mounted upon an actuating shaft 32. The shaft 32 is journaled horizontally in a split ournal bearing in the switch housing. A switch actuating lever 33 isprovided with a hub 34 which is loosely journaled exteriorly of the switch housing upon a section of the shaft 32; Outside of the actuating lever 33 the shaft 32 is provided with a forked head 35. The actuating lever is provided with a perforation 36, and with a weightedhead 37; a pair of latch members 38 and 39 are attached to the ties 18 and 19 and provided with spring or gravity actuated latch bars 40 adapted to engage the actuating lever at opposite ends of the path of travel of said actuating lever, and latch said actuating lever to one of the ties 18 and 19. If desired a padlock 42 may be employed to lock the latch bar in place and prevent tampering with the switch.

A yielding or bendable member 43 preferably constructed from a bar of wrought iron or low grade steel is bent into a single loop or preferably into a double loop as shown in Fig. 2. One end 44 of said bendable member is inserted into the perforation 36 while the portion 45 is inserted in the recess 46 of the forked head 35, and a bolt 47 and nut 48 are inserted into place through perforations in the forked ends of the head 35, so as to retain the bendable member in place relative to the head and actuating lever The bendable member is adapted to be reversed in position relative to the head 35 so as to engage the opposite end 44 thereof with the perforation 36, should the switch be forced and one end 44 of the bendable member bentout of its normal position with reference to the section 45 as shown in Fig. 3.

As indicated in Fig. 1, when the switch is operating normally one or 0t ier of the arms 25 and 26 of the target stands at right angles to the line of vision of the trainmen, while the other arm stands parallel to the line of vision of the trainmen as indicated by the arrows 27 and 28. Vhenever the actuating lever is rotated by hand through one hundred and eighty degrees the pinion 31 makes one half of a revolution and drives the segment 30 one fourth of a revolution, carrying the crank arm 22, target arms 25 and 26 and connecting rod 23 therewith, and shifting the railway switch from open to closed position, or from closed to open position. The bendable member 43 is of sufiicient strength and rigidity to transmit suliicient force indefinitely from the actuating lever to the shaft 32 to operate the switch normally without any permanent bend or deflection of the bendable member 43.

In the event that a locomotive or other rolling stock forces the switch by passing through the switch from the wrong direction, a heavy strain is put upon the switch, the connecting rod 23, the pin 24, crank 22, shaft 21, gear segment 30, pinion 31, shaft 32, head 35, bendable member 43, and actuating lever 33, tending to throw the switch stand mechanism to its opposite position, which is resisted by the latch bar which latches the actuating lever in a stationary position. The bendable member 43 is designed and proportioned to be the weaker member in the train of members under strain, and hence the bendable member 43 will be bent or permanently deflected from its form as shown in Fig. 2 to substantially the position or shape shown in Fig. 3, which whilethe actuating lever remains stationary permits the head 35, the shaft 32, the pinion 31, the segment 30, the shaft 21, the crank 22, the connecting rod 23, and the switch to move substantially one eighth of a complete rotation of the shaft 21 as indicated in Fig. 4, which is a sufiicient distance to permit therolling stock to pass without being derailed, and which throws the target arms 25 and 26 to a position where they both show along the line of vision of the trainmen and indicate to the trainmen that the switch has been run through and has been rendered inoperative and requires to be restored to operative condition before being further used. The segment 30 also moves less than one-fourth of a revolution and thereby assumes a position where it blocks normal actuation of the hand lever, and prevents a complete throw of the hand lever until the bent member 43 has been removed and replaced with an unbent member 43, to restore the switch stand to normal operating condition. The bendable member 43, head 35, and bolt 47 being outside of the switch stand housing, are readily and quickly readjusted to replace a bent bendable member and restore the switch stand to operative condition. Also by replacing the shaft and pinion and actuating lever on old-type switch stands with the pinion 31, shaft 32, head 35, and actuating lever 33, herein shown, any old-type switch stand may be equipped with my improvementsherein specified at relatively small expense. In practice bar steel of low carbon contents and known chemical composition, and of standard dimensions may be employed to produce the bendable members in large numbers or quantities, each member having uniform reliable and known characteristics, adapting said members with great uniformity for the purpose desired. V

In the modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 I have illustrated a couplingmember 63 corresponding to the member 43 of Figs. 1 and 7, which member 63 is composed partly of a relatively rigid frangible material 64, such as cast iron for instance, and a relatively tough and non-frangible material 65, such as low-carbon steel for instance. The material 64 may be cast upon or about the material in amold, or the material (34 may be first cast with a recess 66 therein to receive the material 65, and the material 65 inserted into the recess 66 after the casting has been formed.

The composite bar 63, when subjected to relatively light strains such as throwing the switch by hand, acts as a substantially rigid material. When the composite bar 63 is subjected to heavier strain, such as is put upon the switch members when the switch is forced by a locomotive, the frangible section or member i l is fractured in one or more places, thereby materially and suddenly re ducing the total resistance of the member 63, and after the member 64: has been fractured, the member 65 is bent under the strain of the switch being forced by the locomotive, and the bent member 65 after the locomotive has passed has little if any resiliency tending to ct-urn the switch to its position before being forced, but serves to retain the switch and target in the position to which they were forced by the locomotive, until an operator removes the fractured and bent member and replaces it with a new member 63, thereby restoring the switch to its original operative condition. The composite member 63 resists bending to any appreciable extent up to the point of fracture of the member 64, and thereafter is readily strained past its elastic limit and permanently bent.

In Fig. 7, the main rails are indicated by the numerals 50 and 51, and the switch points by the numerals 52 and 53. The switch points 52 and 53 are connected together by means of a rigid cross-bar 54, and one end of this cross-bar 54 is pivotally connected to the link or connecting rod 23, which in turn is pivotally connected at its opposite end to the free end of the crank arm 22. I do not wish to limit my invention to the particular shape or location of the bendable member with reference to the switch and switch stand, except as specified particularly in the claims.

The apparatus herein shown and described is capable of considerable modificateriorly of said casing to rock said actuating shaft, means to latch said actuating lever at opposite extremities of its rocking movement, and a bendable member interposed between said actuating lever and said actuating shaft and adapted to yield by bending when said switch is forced by the passage of rolling stock in a reverse direction through said switch. p

2. A switch stand comprising a switch stand casing, a crank shaft journaled to said casing and provided with a switch actuating crank, a signal target actuated in unison with the movements of said crank-shaft, a connecting rod connecting said crank with a. switch, an actuating shaft journaled to said casing and o-peratively connected through driving means with said crank shaft, an actuating lever located eXterio-rly of said casing to rock said actuating shaft, means to latch said actuating lever at opposite extremities of its rocking movement, and a yielding member located eXteriorly of said casing and servingto operatively clutch said actuating lever to said actuating shaft for manually actuating said switch, said yielding member being adapted to yield by bending and permit the crank shaft to move independently of the actuating lever when said switch is forced by thepassage of rolling stock in a reverse direction through said switch and serving to retain said switch and target against normal strains in their new positions. v y

3. A switch stand comprising a switch stand casing, a crank shaft journaled to said casing and provided with a switch actuating crank, a signal target actuated in unison with the movements of said crank shaft, a connecting rod connecting said crank with a switch, an actuating lever located eXteriorly of said casing, driving means to operatively connect said actuating lever to said crank shaft, means to latch said actuating lever at opposite extremities of its movement, and a bendable member interposed betweensaid actuati a lever and crank shaft and serving to clutch said actuating lever in driving relation to said crank shaft, said bendable memher being adapted to yield by bending and allow said crank shaft to move independently of said actuating lever when rolling stock is passed in a reverse direction through said switch and serving to retain said switch and target against normal strains in their new positions.

4. 'A switch stand comprising a switch stand casing, a crank shaft journaled to said casing and provided with a. switch actuating crank, a signal target actuated in unison with the movements of said crank shaft, a connecting rod connecting said crank with a switch.

an actuating shaft journaled to said casing and operatively connected through driving means with said crank shaft, an actuating lever located exteriorly of said casing to rock said actuating shaft, means to latch said act'uating lever at opposite extremities of its rockingmovement, and a bendable member detachably attached to said actuating shaft and serving to normally operatively connect said actuating lever in driving relation to said actuating shaft, said bendable member being adapted to bend to permit said actuating shaft to move independently of said actuating lever when said switch is forced by the passage of rolling stock in a reverse direction through said switch.

5. A switch stand comprising a switch stand casing, a crank shaft journaled to said casing and provided with a switch actuating crank, a signal target actuated in unison with the movements of said crank shaft, a connecting rod connecting said crank with a switch, an actuating shaft journaled to said casing and operatively connected through driving means with said crank shaft, an actuating lever located exteriorly of said casing and loosely journaled upon said actuating shaft, means to latch said actuating lever at opposite extremities of its rocking movement, and a bendable member detachably interposed between said actuating shaft and actuating lever to normally operatively connect said actuating lever in driving relation to said actuating shaft, said bendable member serving to bend and allow said ac uating shaft to move independently of said actuating lever when said switch is forced by the passage of rolling stock in a reverse direction through said switch and serving to retain said switch and target against normal strains in their new positions.

A switch stand comprising a casing, a switch actuating crankshaft, a target indicating the position of said crankshaft, an actuating lever adapted to be latched to opposite extremities of its adjustment, and a bendable and replaceable clutch member 10- c. d exteriorly of the casing and serving without bending to normally clutch said actuating lever to said crank shaft, and serving in an emergency by bending of said clutch member to permit said crank and tarto move relative to said actuating lever and to indicate such relative movement by the position of the target when the switch stand is forced by the passage of rolling stock and serving to retain said switch and target against normal strains in their new positions.

7. A switch stand comprising a casing, a switch actuating crank shaft, an actuating lever adapted to be latched to opposite extremities of its adjustment, and a bendable and replaceable clutch member serving without bendingto normally clutchsaid actuatinglever to said crank shaft, and'serving in an emergency by bending of said clutch member to permit said switch to move relative to said actuatinglcver and to indicate such relative movement by the position of the target when the switch stand is forced by the passage of rolling stock and serving to retain said switch against normal strains in its new position.

8. A switch stand comprising a casing, a

switch actuating crank shaft, a target indicating the position of said cank shaft, an actuating lever adapted to be latched to opposite extremities of its adjustment, and a yieldable and replaceable clutch member serving without fracture or bending to normally clutch said actuating lever to said crank shaft, and serving in an emergency by bending of said clutch member to permit said crank and target to move relative tosaid actuating lover and to indicate such relative movement by the position of the target when the switch stand is forced by the passage of rolling stock and serving to retain said 1 and target against normal strains in cw positions. \""ch actuating mechanism compris a switch, a target operable in unison with Til indicate the position of the .unlc'cll, a switch actuating lever adapted to be latched to opposite extremities of its adjustment, transmitting mechanism interposed between said switch and said switch actuating lever to throw said switch when said 'ctuating lever is shifted, and a clutch member ha *ing a frangible section and a bendable section, said clutch member serving to clutch said lever in operative relation to said switch to normally manually operate the switch, and the frangible section of said clutch member being adapted to be fractured and the bendable section of said clutch member permanently bent when the switch is forced.

10. Switch actuating mechanism comprising a switch, a target operable in unison with said switch to indicate the position of the switch, a switch actuating lever adapted to be latched to opposite extremities of its adjustment, transmitting mechanism interpcsed between said switch and said switch actuating lever to throw said switch when said actuating lever is shifted, and a detachable clutch member having a frangible section and a bendable section, said clutch member serving to clutch said lever in operative relation to said switch to normally manually operate the switch and the frangible section of said clutch member being adapted to be fractured and the bendable section of said clutch member bent when the switch is forced.

11. Switch actuating mechanism comprising a switch, a target operable in unison with said switch to indicate the position of the switch, a switch actuating lever adapted to be latched to opposite extremities of its adjustment, transmitting mechanism interpesed between said switch and said switch actuating lever to throw said switch when said actuating lever is shifted, and a clutch member located detachably exteriorly of the switch stand easing having a frangible section and a bendable section, said clutch mem ber serving to clutch said lever in operative relation to said switch to normally manually operate the switch and the frangible section of said clutch member being adapted to be fractured and the bendable section of said clutch member bent when the switch is forced.

In testimony whereof I have afliXed my signature.

WALLACE M. GRAY. 

